This is the story about a group winemakers in a Yahoo Group that made a wine using store-bought juice from the Dutch brand Appelsientje.

I am a member of a Yahoo winemaking group. In 2007 we decided (on my initiation) that we as a group would make a wine. Meaning that all members would make the same wine. We had never seen eachother and knew eachother only through the internet.We all however lived in the Netherlands, and so we all should be able to use the same store-bought juice.We decided that each step in winemaking would be discussed and democratically voted upon. The most votes then would decide how the next step in winemaking, how much sugar to add, how much acid, which acid, use sulphites, would be done.This was a very educational experiment. Not only did we learn to know eachother better, but we also gained insight on how experienced every winemaker was. Several philosophies in winemaking emerged and there were some real lessons in democracy !!!All these reasons in itself made the exeperiment worthwhile. Soemthing you should try if you are in a winemaking group on the net or in real-life.

Besides the above reasons for following the process, the wine even turned out rather well. Now after 2 years aging it even has become a good wine !!!

Basics.

We all wanted to make the same wine. Therefore we would all make the same volume and follow the same steps. That is why we all needed to use the same base-ingredient. It was quicly decided that the wine would be made from store-bought juice. Now we have several grocery-chains in the netherlands. But not all cities have the same stores. Except for one: our national grocer Albert Hein. So we decided to use this grocery for our shopping. Now Albert Hein sells a lot of different fruit juices.So after tasting several brands and varieties per brand we voted for using Appelsientje Dubbeldrank Bessen en druiven. So we used the juice from the brand Appelsientje and the variety berries and grape.The only ingredient we agreed upon that would vary was the yeast strain. Not all home winemaking shops sell the same yeast strains. And to force people to drive hundred miles to just get a certain strain was out of the question. So it was decided that each would just use the yeast strain they had at hand.

Appelsientje Dubbeldrank berries and grape.

This juice in itself is delicious to drink. The packaging does not metion any preserving ingredients. Just for certainty I decided to call the manufacturer A very helpfull employee asured me that indeed no preservatives were added. So an ideal juice to make a wine with.

Measurements.

As a seasoned winemaker and initiator of the experiment I knew I had to analyse the juice before I could make wine with it.

The acidity of the juice was 5. For a consumable juice that is fine. For winemaking this is a bit too low.

Next measuring the sugar.

My hydrometer showed an SG 0f 1054. According to my SG-table (which you can download by clicking here) a juice that has an SG of 1055 and an acidity of 4 will have about 123 gram sugar per liter.

Now the packaging of the juice indicated that there was 12.4 gram sugar per 100 ml juice. This is 124 gram per 100 liter which is about the same my own measurements showed. It also shows how accurate my own SG-table is.

The math

Calculating the amount of sugar that needs to be added.

As a group we decided to make this wine at 12% alcohol.To make 1% alcohol in 1 liter the yeast need 18 gram sugar.We wanted to have 12% alcohol and therefore the yeast would need 12% x 18 gram = 216 gram sugar per liter juice.

The packaging and my measurements indicated there was 124 gram sugar per liter present.So to obtain the desired alcohol percentage you would need to add 216 (needed) - 124 (in the juice present) = 92 gram sugar per liter juice.We were going to make 10 liter and had to add therefore 10 (liter) x 92 (needed per liter) = 920 gram sugar to the must.

As my hydrometer indicated a bit less as 1055 we decided to add a bit more sugar. We voted for adding 950 gram sugar to the must.

Calculating the acid

The acid measurement showed that there was 5 gram acid per liter present (an acidity of 5). We decided to bring acidity to 6. So we needed to add 6 (desired) - 5 (measured acidity) = 1 gram acid per liter.We were making 10 liter and therefore needed to add 10 x 1 gram = 10 gram acid. However democratically was decided that we would add 12 gram.

Now not every memeber of the group posessed malic and tartaric acid. So we decided to raise acidity by adding citric acid, which everyone had in stock. Citric acid is in this particular case not a bad choise anyhow as it brings some freshness to your wines.

The recipe

On a friday evening I started a yeaststarter using 1 liter Appelsientje Dubbeldrank Bessen en druiven and following my proven recipe.

There were two advantages in making the yeast starter from the same juice the wine would be made. First the yeast would get used to their knew environment. And secondly I was shure that the wine would ferment without trouble.

The next day the starter was indeed fermenting vigorously. All the fellow winemakers confirmd this also by e-mail. We could go on with the next steps.

We had decided that we would make this wine directly in a carboy, instead of first using a primary.

I started with dissolving 950 gram sugar and 12 gram citric acid in 2 liter juice. This solution was poured in the carboy.

Next I added 4 liter juice and the yeast starter. At that time there was about 7.5 liter must in the carboy. Plenty of room for any foam to expand.

The carboy was sealed with a rubber bung with an airlock attached.

Fermentation almost started immediately.

A few days later the vigorous fermentation was over and I filled the carboy with the remaining juice.

A few months later fermentation had stopped and the wine was totally clear. That's when I bottled it.

No sulphites ????

If you have followed this recipe carefully you will have noticed that we had used no sulphites in this recipe. A few members of the group insisted that no sulphites should be used. And as this was a democratic process we voted bout it and they had the majority.

The freezing cold outisde, overe here, has certainly influence on my mood as this story also describes cooling wine. Only this time it goes further: we are going to freeze wine !!!

This time I present you with an idea I read on the web-log of the US winemaker Jack Keller. Jack did not get the idea by himself but found it in an article by a 'winewriter' called julian Schulz.

Julian Schulz seemed to have once written a story about something he discovered, by accident, on the website of the Oxford Wine Room. Unfortunately I can not find the original article anymore anywhere. There are numerous sites that recall the story on the net but for some reason the original story can not be found anymore.

The story.

As Jack keller describes, the story goes as follows. Julan Schulz had opened a bottle of Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon when he suddenly had to leave on a business trip abroad. He decided to freeze the wine. Upon returning he thawed it. To his amazement the wine actually had gotten better. It was even better as when he tasted it for the first time.

Jack's test

So Jack keller decided to give it a try. He wrote in his web-log that he left the wine for two weeks in the freezer. Next he thawed it and served it to some guests. Everyone agreed that the frozen and thawed wine was better as the original.

Now that is something I had to try !!!!Luc's test

My honorable predecessors used a Cabernet Sauvignon for this test. I only use wines I made myself. So I decided to do a first test with a white and a red wine.

The red wine was a wine made at the end of 2007 from store bought berry juice. Not a bad wine but nothing spectacular. A normal table wine. The white wine was my dandelion wine made in 2008. This one was stil young and had a real sharp edge. Definitely a wine that needed to age.

I opened each bottle and devided it in two pet bottles. Of each test wine a pet bottle went into the freezer. The other pet bottle was placed at the location where the wine originally was: in my garage. That way I was sure, when testing, I would taste exactly the same wine. If I would have used two bottles for each test wine there might be a slight difference in the taste of each bottle. Using 1 bottle devided in half made sure I was tasting exactly the same wine.

I did not fill the pet bottles totally. If you are going to repaet this then please remind not to fill the bottles to the top.Freezing fluids expand. So when there is no room for expanding the bottles may break while freezing. I used pet-bottles and they are known to handle pressure, glass bottles however will surely break and leave a mess in the freezer.

I decided not to leave the wine a long time in the freezer. I put them in the freezer on thursday and got them out on saturday. They were totally frozen by then.

The day after, on sunday, they had thawed and were ready for the tasting experiment. I marked the pet bottles which were frozen with a B. The ones that not have been frozen were marked with an O.

First we tested the red wine. My girlfriend Els had the honour to do the blind tasting. I sipped along.

Well the difference was obvious. The part of the wine that was frozen and thawed was much better. The wine had more bouqet and aroma. He was promoted from a good wine to a splendid red wine !!!

Next it was the white wines turn. Again Els had to do the blind tasting. Man o man, what a hard life that woman has living with me.....

The difference was obvious again. The wine that had not been frozen still was a young dandelion wine with a hard edge. And then the wine that was frozen and thawed !!! Mild, smooth, excellent mouthfeel. Really delicious !!!

So I decided to do another test. This time I choose a test-wine. This test wine is an elderberry wine I made in 2008 which was very harsh. A wine that definitely has to age several years. When tasting this wine you taste tannin, acid, alcohol and a hint of elderberries. So I use some of this batch for testing purposes like this.

A bottle of this wine was devided in two pet-bottles of which one went into the freezer and the other back into the garage where it came from.

A few days later the wine was taken out of the freezer and thawed. Then it was allowed to reach room temperature. Again a glass of the frozen wine was put next to the non-frozen and a blind test was conducted. And again Els performed the blind testing. And indeed with this test she could again immediately point out which wine had been frozen and which had not. Her findings were identaical to mine: the frozen part was more mild and smooth. it was not yet up to standards and still had to age. But the frozen wine was already much better drinkable as the nonfrozen.

So does freezing makes aging obsolete ???

Well for some wines it surely looks like that. For several of my homemade wines I it surely makes aging obsolete.

Normally dandelion wine has to age at least a year to become consumable. After that it only gets better. This is a typical wine that normally can not be consumed in its first year.Now when you freeze the dandelion wine and thaw it is instantly drinkable.

The elderberry wine still has to age even when it has been frozen and thawed. The forzen part was definitely better as the non-frozen but it still was not up to standards.

Why is a frozen wine better as a non-frozen ???

Well actually there is until now no explanation for. Not yet. A complete research project should be made of this as it has enormous commercial potential.Kack keller suggested that students of the university of Caifornia should dive into this. I think there would also be opportunities for French universities......

Concluding

Well I did not try hundreds of wine varieties. However I still keep on testing and experimenting with this. Just like Jack and Julian I do not have an explanation, I just can confirm it: Wine that has been frozen and allowed to thaw is generally better as it was before.

I really advise you all to perform this experiment yourselves. It can easily and effortless be done, and the result will amaze you. Undoubtedly it will not improve every wine, so do a test before you freeze your complete wine-cellar.

Please take care not to fill the bottles to the top, otherwise they will break while freezing. And there is nothing worse as a mess in your freezer.

This might not be a worthy replacement for aging wines. However, when a party is coming up and you do not have any wine 'ready for consumption' this might save you.

Besides that, we make wine because we like it. And if we find something to improve the wine, why shouldn't we do that. So there are a few more bottles waiting for consumption in my freezer.

Luc Volders

Copyright 2010No part of this publication and pictures may be reproducedin any form (printed text, web-pages, weblogs or forums)without written permission of the author.

Some wines give you nothing but trouble. My dandelion wine of 2 years ago was such a wine.

First I was stopped by the police for picking flowers where I was supposedly not allowed to. After a small discussion they let me proceed.

Next the first batch I made spoiled. If you want to know why and how click here.

The second batch dandelion wine I made (again 30 liter) refused to start fermenting. I added a vigorous fermenting yeast starter, and three days later the wine was still not ferementing. With a lot of effort I managed to get it going. I am going to write about stuck fermentations, but that has to wait for another time.

When it started fermenting everything went well. Except for one thing. The wine was finished end may. In august it was still hazy (like a real thick fog actually) and mid december that had not changed.

The wine would just not clear.

I am not an advocate for clearing additions. I do not have a good explanation for it but for some reason I have never used clearing aids. Patience has cleared all my wines.

By now it was getting cold outside. That gave me an idea.It is widely known that cold helps clearing wines.

So I decided to put the wine outside for some time.

As it was winter it just started freezing. Now a bit of freezing is not bad for the wine, presumed it does not freeze TO hard. If that is the case, the wine might freeze despite the alcohol that is in it. And a freezing fluid expands. A broken carboy can be the result of that !!!!

So I kept an eye on the thermometer and when it really started freezing hard, I put the wine inside again.

The result was amazing. The bottom of the carboy was covered with a small amount of sediment, and the wine had cleared. A nice yellow dandelion colour but crystal clear.

The photo shows you the carboy agains a wall of tiles and you can see the joint through the carboy.

I bottled the wine. The photo above shows again how clear it was.

Now I turn back to the first sentence in this story: A glas of this dandelion wine made me forget all the ordeals I had to go through to get to this point. So this year I will be making it again........

Concluding.

It is difficult to give a well founded conclusion here.

Moving the wine, which undoubtedly stirred it a bit, might have been enough to start the clearing process. It is also possible that the wine itself decided it was time to start clearing just before I put it outside. And I can think of another dozen reasons why the wine could have started clearing.

However the conclusion that the cold had started cleqaring the wine is the most obvious.

So I can not give a hundred procent guarantee that your wine will clear by putting it in the cold. But when you have to wait patiently anyhow, why not do that while the wine is a few weeks outside in the cold......

And over here the outside temperatures are around the freezing point again, so this is the time to put your stubborn wines outside.